IPL 2016: 5 domestic players from whom much more was expected

The Indian Premier League is now into the business end of the season. Four teams have made it to the playoffs after 4 months of intense cricketing action.

Along the way, there have been multiple players who have made it count on the big stage. The purpose of the IPL has always been to provide an opportunity to talent, and this season it has been no different.

However, there have been few young Indian players who were expected to take the stage by storm but unfortunately, they just did not arrive. We take a look at 5 such young Indian players who did not live up to their billing this season.

Shreyas Iyer

Perhaps Shreyas Iyer is the biggest disappointment this season. He was like a cruising train in the Ranji Trophy this year, but it came to a screeching halt in the IPL. His numbers were stupendous, to say the least, and so much was expected off him in the IPL.

In 11 matches this season in the Ranji Trophy, Iyer amassed 1321 runs at a staggering average of 73.38 and with an impressive strike rate of 92.70. He was by far the best batsman in the tournament, and hence, expectations were bound to rise as he walked out to bat for the Delhi Daredevils. Also, the fact that he was retained by the franchise after he was bought by them in 2015 for Rs 2.6 crore. He repaid their faith in 2015 by scoring 439 runs in 14 matches and was one of the few bright sparks in the Daredevils outfit.

However, he got a duck in his first match this season, and things only went pear shaped for Iyer all through. In 6 matches he scored only 30 runs, and his highest score was 19. He never looked comfortable during his stay and kept trying too hard without any avail. A season to forget for the Mumbai lad by all counts.

Karn Sharma

Much has changed for Karn Sharma in this one year. He played his debut Test Match for India in Adelaide against Australia and has been a regular feature for the Railways in the Ranji Trophy. Also, he has substantial IPL experience as he been a vital part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad since 2013.

But he has been below par and off the boil this season. Being a vital cog for SRH's bowling stocks, Karn was quite impressive in all other previous seasons. He took 11, 15 and 10 wickets respectively in 2013, 2014 and 2015. But this season in the 5 matches which he did play, he did not pick a single wicket and gave away 171 runs at an economy rate of 10.46.

He is no slouch with the bat either and has chipped in on many occasions with critical runs. But such has been the season for Karn that he barely was visible with that bat either.

Aditya Tare

Aditya Tare was the skipper of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy which won the Ranji Trophy for the record 41st time. The role of Tare was instrumental too, as he was the wicket-keeper batsman in the squad. He did not disappoint too with the bat either as in 10 matches, he scored 569 runs with an impressive average of 40.64.

Tare was snapped up by Sunrisers Hyderabad this season and was expected to bolster the middle order with his reliable batting. However, Tare got to play only 3 matches in the entire season. He did not grab even these opportunities and scored only 8 runs and thus had to be benched. In the presence of regular wicket-keeper batsman Naman Ojha, Tare could not quite make the cut as a regular wicket-keeper too.

Harshal Patel

The Haryana pacer had a decent outing for his state team in the Ranji Trophy. In the 8 matches he played, Harshal picked up 22 wickets and kept things tight with his line and length bowling.

He was decent in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament too as he picked up 5 wickets and gave away runs with an acceptable economy rate of 7.30.

However, playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore this season, Harshal was a massive disappointment. He picked up only 1 wicket in the 5 matches he played for RCB. He was taken for plenty with the ball and had an economy rate of 10.50.

A season to forget for Harshal Patel.

Shahbaz Nadeem

Shahbaz Nadeem, the Jharkhand skipper was in sterling form during the Ranji season. In 9 matches he picked up 51 wickets and was in phenomenal wicket-taking form.

He continued his form into the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament in which he picked up 10 wickets in 9 matches at an economy rate of 6.47.

However, he could not continue this into the Indian Premier League. Playing for the Delhi Daredevils, Nadeem picked up only 2 wickets in the 4 matches he could get in. His economy was 8.46, and hence could not quite plug the runs either.